Brassiere



July 15, 1958 s. J.B| ocK ETAL BRASSIERE originai Filed nec. 15. 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 llllnllll:

INVENTORS SYDNEY J. LocK LESTER vl. aLocx BY fvfCJ/w ATTORNEY July 15, 1958 s. J. sL'ocK ErAL l 2,843,130r

BRASSIERE Original Filed Dec. 15. 1954 l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5. YF'G- 6- mvENToRs Smm J. B Locn` "LESTER wg ymom@ ATTORNEY BRASSIERE Sydney J. Block and Lester W. Block, Culver City, Calif., assignors to California Forms, Inc., Culver City, Calif., a corporation of California Original application December 15, 1954, Seriai No. 475,525, now Patent No. 2,725,574, dated December 6, 1955. Divided and this application ctoher 31, 1955, Serial No. 543,918

2 Claims. (Cl. 12S- 458) Since it is impossible for most women to achieve this high and rounded appearance of the breasts with a conventional brassiere, it is an object of our invention to provide a brassiere which will achieve this result.

It is particularly an object of our invention to provide such` a brassiere which is simultaneously extremely comfortable for the wearer and which is so adaptable that it can be worn by substantially every woman.

Another object of our invention is to provide in a brassiere a breast pad which is molded of foam rubber or the like and which is provided adjacent the lower portion thereof with a hernispherical mound which is disposed adjacent the body of the wearer in use. When the brassiere is worn, the breast of the wearer ts into Vhollow portions of the pad which are disposed above and on both sides of the mound, resulting in its causing the desired higher and more round appearance which is dictated by fashion.

The upper portion of our breast pads serves to contain the breast and also to form the upper part of the breast cup portion of the brassiere, with the top edge of the cloth forming the breast cups being attached to the top edge nited States Patent 4 of the breast pad to provide an improved appearance for the lbrassiere by preventing sagging ofthe tops of the breast cups and to provide anchoring of the upper portion of the breast pads.

It is a further object of our invention to provide a brassiere in which the lower portions ofthe breast pads are free to shift position to accommodate the breasts and in which the breast pads cooperate with semi-circular wires which encircle their lower portions to provide an improved and more comfortable brassiere construction of the class described.

Our invention also comprisessuch other objects, advantages and capabilities as will later more fully appear and which are inherently possessed by our invention.

While we have shown in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of our invention, it should be understood that the same is susceptible Vof modification and change without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. l is a front elevational view of our brassiere, with the elastic portions broken away to shorten the view and with the structure partly broken away on the left end side of the iigure to expose the interior construction;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged View `of the portion of our brassiere adjacent the upper corner of one of the breast cups, taken from inside the brassiere;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a portion of our brassiere taken on line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a portion of our brassiere taken on line A4 4 of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of our brassiere taken on line 5 5 of Fig. l;

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of a breast pad, showing the inside of the pad;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the breast pad taken on line 7 7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a top plan View of the breast pad;

Fig. 9 is a front elevational view of a pair of covered breast pads, with the left hand portion partly broken away to show the interior structure.

A preferred embodiment which has been selected to illustrate our invention comprises a brassiere 10 having a pair ofelongated elastic portions 1l at its opposite ends which are adapted to extend around the sides of the wearer to adjacent the center of the back. The free ends of the elastic portions are provided with end bands 12 carrying suitable fastening means enabling them to be attached to each other to hold the brassiere in place on the body of the wearer. The elastic portions il are preferably formed of elastic nylon mesh material.

A bottom elastic tape i3 extends across the entire bottom edge of the brassiere llt) and is adapted to yield to permit the brassiere to adjust itself to the body contours of the wearer. The inner ends of the elastic portions 1l are `attached to a pair of bias tapes 15 which extend around a pair of vertical stays i4. The stays i4 are preferably formed of slightly resilient dat bands of metal. A pair of upper elastic tapes 18 extend across the upper edges of elastic portions lll from the free ends of elastic portions 11 to a point slightly beyond the stays t4.

The front portion of our brassiere comprises a pair of cloth pieces i6 which are attached at their bottoni edges to the bottom elastic tape i3, at their outside edges to the bias tape 15 and at their inside edges to each other adjacent a reinforcing strip i7 of bias tape which bisects the brassiere. The upper edges of the cloth pieces 16 are `substantially U-shaped and are stitched around a pair of U-shaped spring steel wires i9. The wires 19 deline the bottom and lower side edges of the breast cups of our brassiere. They are sufiiciently yieldable so that their free ends can be stretched apart, while the bottom of the U remains substantially unchanged.

The breast cup portions of our brassiere include an outer layer 23 and an inner layer 24, both of which are formed of cloth. These layers are stitched along their lower edges to the top edges of the cloth pieces 16, extending around the wires 19. The stitching which attaches them together thus denes a pair of U-shaped channels in which the wires 19 are held. A pair of U-shaped strips of cotton flannel tufting 20 are also provide on the inside of the brassiere and held by the same stitching in order to prevent the wires 19 from causing any discomfort to the wearer.

A pair of breast pads 25 are mounted between layers 23 and 24 in the breast cup portions of our brassieres. The pads 25 are prreferably formed of foam rubber or similar suitable resilient material and are best formed by molding. The pads for both sides of the brassiere are identically formed. The pads 25 are of unusual shape and contour to serve the purpose of our invention. Each pad is provided adjacent the bottom thereof with a hemispherical mound 31. It should be noted that the mound 31 rises abruptly from the bottom edge of the pad so that when the pad is viewed from the side as shown in Figs. 5 and 8, the mound `31 extends rearwardly from the pad. It should also be noted that the center of the hemispherical mound 31 is disposed along the vertical axis of the pad 25, but wellA below its horizontal axis. The sides of the mound 31 slope 0E into hollow portions 30 within the interior of the pad above and on both sides of the mound 31.

In use, the lower portion of the mound 31 is pressed tiatly against the body of the wearer beneath the breast. The breast is accordingly forced to dispose itself so that it encircles the mound 31, fitting into the hollow portions 30 above and on the sides of the mound and being restricted on the lower side by the wires 19. The hollow portions 30 encircle the mound 31, extending from adjacent the bottom of the pad 2S on one side of the mound 31 continuously around the mound 31 to adjacent the bottom of the opposite side of the pad.

The breast pads 2S are held in place by stitching in the following7 manner. A pair of arcuate bias tapes 27 extend across the top edges of the breast cups. Each of the bias tapes 27 is attached to the layers 23 and 24 by a pair of arcuate stitches 29. The bottom stitch extends through a thin edge 26 which is provided around the top and upper side edges of the breast pad 25. Such stitchingr extends from the point designated X1 in Fig. l of the drawings to X2 and from X3 to X4.

The innermost of the pair of stitches defining the channels around wires 19 also extends through the thin upper side of the pads 25 from the points marked X to the points marked Y in Fig. l. The remainder of the breast pad 25 between the points Y extending around the bottom of the pad is left entirely free and unattached.

The upper portion of the pad Z5 thus supports the upper portion of the breast cup so that the breast cup stays up without requiring the use of straps. The mound 31 bulges toward the Ibody of the wearer to make contact with the body so that the wire cannot exert any unpleasant pressure against the body. Since the bottom of the pad 25 is unattached to the brassicre, the mound 31 is free to be slightly shifted about between the layers 23 and 24 in order to be adjusted to the most comfortable position for the wearer.

In use, the elastic portions 11 are preferably slightly stretched by the body of the wearer. in turn, they exert pressure on the upper free ends of the wires 19 to stretch them slightly farther apart at the top. The side edges of the ybreasts are held by the wires 19 and pads 25, while the lower portions of the breasts are disposed above the mounds 31.

In use, the breasts of the wearer are held within the hollow portions 3G of the pad 25. Their sideward movement is limited by the wires 19, while their downward movement is prevented by the bottom of the mound 31, which tits snugly against the body of the wearer beneath the breast. It is thus impossible for the breast to assume any position other than the higher and more rounded contour which is currently dictated -by fashion. The outside of the lower portions of the breast pad 25 is convex vertically and horizontally as shown in Fig. 8 in order to continue the line and contour of the elevated and rounded breast.

In commercial manufacture, a decorative layer of material 35 may be provided on the outside of the breast cups, being superimposed over the outer layer 23 to enhance the appearance of the brassicre. Suitable lace trim may also be provided along the top edges of the breast cups and the decorative appearance of the brassicre may be altered as desired without affecting the operation of our invention.

We claim:

1. A brassiere including a pair of elongated elastic portions adapted to fit around the body of the wearer, the

outer ends of said elastic portions adapted to be attached to each other, a pair of inelastic pieces, the outer ends of said inelastic pieces being attached to the inner ends of said elastic portions, the inner portions of said inelastic pieces being attached to each other, each of said inelastic pieces having a substantially U-shaped breast cup opening, a breast cup mounted in each of said openings, a breast pad formed of yieldable material mounted in each of said breast cups, each of said inelastic pieces having a cl-shaped channel surrounding said breast cup opening and extending from the top of said brassicre on one side of said opening to the top of said brassicre on the other side of said opening, a U-shaped wire mounted in each of said channels, said wires being somewhat resilient, the free ends of said wires being directed substantially vertically and disposed adjacent the top of said brassicre, a pair of elongated vertical stays mounted adjacent the outer ends of said inelastic pieces and extending substantially from the top of said brassicre to the bottom thereof, said elastic portions adapted to be stretched longitudinally when said brassiere is fitted around the body, the stretching of said elastic portions causing the ends of each of said wires to stretch apart from each other adjacent the top of the brassicre to open the tops of said breast cups and facilitate the reception and maintenance of the breasts of the wearer within said breast cups.

2. A brassicre having a pair of elongated elastic portions adapted to tit around the body of the wearer, an inelastic portion disposed between said elastic portions, said inelastic portion having a pair of substantially U-shaped breast `cup openings, a breast cup mounted in each of said openings, a breast pad formed of yieldable material mounted in each of said breast cups, top stitching extending through the entire top edge of said `breast pad and breast cup and side stitching extending through the side edges of said breast pad and through said inelastic portion on the opposite sides of said breast cup openings from the top of said breast pad to a point adjacent the vertical midportion of said breast cup, the remainder of said pad forming substantially a semi-circle which is free from attachment to said brassiere or breast cup, a substantially U- shaped channel surrounding each of said breast cup openings and extending from the top of said brassicre on one side of each opening to the top of said brassiere on the other side of said opening, a substantially U-shaped wire mounted in each of said channels, said elastic portions adapted to be stretched longitudinally when said brassicre is fitted around the body, the stretching of said elastic portions causing the ends of each of said wires to stretch apart from each other adjacent the top of the brassicre to open the tops of said breast cups and facilitate the reception and maintenance of the breasts of the wearer within said breast cups.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,440,466 Freedman Apr. 27, 1948 2,501,325 Gates Mar. 2l, 1950 2,535,864 Plehn Dec. 26, 1950 2,579,545 Cadous Dec. 25, 1951 2,608,689 Leuven Sept. 2, 1952 2,698,940 Dombek Jan. l1, 1955 2,725,574 Block Dec. 6, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 943,508 France Oct. 4, 1948 

